JobRouter® Release 4.2
More features, better performance, enhanced user-experience
06.03.2018
Our motto is characterized this year by movement and change: Many things are happening on the digitization market - this is why we are also focusing on much - and much more: more intelligence, more solution templates, more certifications, more cloud, more support - and even more digital office! This is particularly evident in the range of functions of our JobRouter® digitization platform, which has been greatly expanded with Release 4.2 in the areas of document and data management.
With JobViewer 2 we have created a new basis for working with documents in JobRouter®, which we will further expand in the coming months and add many exciting functionalities, such as signing digital documents. At the same time, with JobRouter® 4.2 we have laid the foundation stone by integrating a new messaging layer to be able to use system activities in future not only asynchronously on the server but directly from dialogs.
In addition to the newly designed JobViewer 2, existing components such as JobPDF, JobData or JobArchive have been further improved to make your digital work experience even more user-friendly and simple! Access, process, and complete your content, data, and files from a wide variety of processes according to your business needs.
Find out how JobRouter 4.2 takes digital work to a whole new level!
06.03.2018
Our motto is characterized this year by movement and change: Many things are happening on the digitization market - this is why we are also focusing on much - and much more: more intelligence, more solution templates, more certifications, more cloud, more support - and even more digital office! This is particularly evident in the range of functions of our JobRouter® digitization platform, which has been greatly expanded with Release 4.2 in the areas of document and data management.
With JobViewer 2 we have created a new basis for working with documents in JobRouter®, which we will further expand in the coming months and add many exciting functionalities, such as signing digital documents. At the same time, with JobRouter® 4.2 we have laid the foundation stone by integrating a new messaging layer to be able to use system activities in future not only asynchronously on the server but directly from dialogs.
In addition to the newly designed JobViewer 2, existing components such as JobPDF, JobData or JobArchive have been further improved to make your digital work experience even more user-friendly and simple! Access, process, and complete your content, data, and files from a wide variety of processes according to your business needs.
Find out how JobRouter 4.2 takes digital work to a whole new level!
More document functionality with JobViewer 2
With the introduction of the archive module JobArchive, the document viewer JobViewer was also integrated in the JobRouter® platform. JobViewer enables the display of about 300 different file types in the browser. However, the requirements related to viewers are rising steadily, espeacilly through the increasing document functionality integration in workflows, the chances for interaction are growing likewise.
That’s why JobRouter® 4.2 is offering the JobViewer 2 module, which is much better integrated in JobRouter®, to enable agile work with documents and data. JobViewer 2 is especially designed for the work with typical business documents and receipts and supports all common formats: PDF, image, office and text files.
Drag & Drop – Easy index data recording:
When storing documents in an archive as well as during the work with documents in a workflow, information has to be transferred regularly from the document into the index dialog or the workflow form. JobViewer 2 automatically runs an OCR over the document, extracting text and information and providing them for an easy recording. Whole lines or individual words can be inserted from the document in the form element by Drag & Drop.
The OCR can be used for all languages supported by JobRouter®, there is no volume limitation. Additionally it is possible to adapt the applied processor cores optionally to enable fast OCR data collection even in systems with high traffic loads.
Annotations with control function:
Of course, JobViewer 2 supports document annotations. Thanks to the deep integration of JobViewer 2, not only the recording person is stored for each annotation but also the recording date. So it is transparent at any time, who added which note to the document at which time and date. Additionally to texts and graphical elements it is possible to install colored check marks for faster control. So you can e.g. tick off individual positions on an invoice very quickly.
Stamp with digital added value
Many users wish for familiar paperwork elements, such as e.g. stamps used for the release of documents, even if they are working in a digital work environment. That’s why we have integrated digital stamps in JobViewer 2. They can be applied by the user within a workflow, though they can’t be removed after they have been placed. Unlike the stamps used in many classical ECM systems these JobViewer stamps are managed completely by the workflow, meaning, that the stamp “Approved” is only available, if there is a corresponding approval step in this document incidence. It is not possible to insert the stamp at a later stage. Through this tight connection between workflow and document function, a safe work environment is created for documents and processes. Process designers can create these stamps simply through the dialog via the JobRouter® API. They are able to create any number and kind (color, user name, date, …) of stamps. So JobRouter® raises the work with digital stamps to a new completely level.
Optimized user experience
By redesigning the viewer it became feasible to enhance functions fundamentally, such as the leafing through stapled files within a document. Also the design has been shaped in a more appealing way. Additionally, document download is now easier for the user and offers the possibility to choose between the original document, a PDF with annotations, or a PDF without annotations.
API support
Processdesigners should be free as much as possible when it comes to working with the viewer. That’s why interaction functions are integrated directly. So it is e.g. possible to query the form, if a stamp has been already placed and the work step can be send. The other way around, it is possible to perform a step in a form during the placement of a stamp, e.g. in order to dispatch the step.
Configuration
JobViewer 2 is delivered together with the former version of JobViewer. So the user can decide himself, which functionalities he needs. This setting can be opened dynamically, depending on the data type, which means that e.g. not files not supported by JobViewer 2 will be displayed in the former version or offered directly for download.
Export of archived documents
To enable the automated export of archived documents to JobRouter® processes, the new function “Export PDF” became available in the system activity JobArchive. With this function it is now possible to export documents from any position in the process and to convert it into a PDF document. So you can choose if annotations of the document shall be merged with the PDF file or not. Precondition for the conversion is the support of the original file by JobViewer. Otherwise the original files will be exported.
JobStart – Attachment filters
With JobStart it is possible – among others –to monitor email inboxes regarding new emails and initiate new instances based on this. In many deployment scenarios hereby attachments like invoices are delivered to an instance. As it may happen that images integrated in emails (e.g. advertisement banners) are attached to emails as attachments, this possibility can be filtered out specifically. Only the real attachments are integrated into the process. The respective setting can be made in the email import task.
Dynamic templates in JobPDF
The module JobPDF offers JobRouter® process designers the possibility – among others –to create individual documents in PDF format, based on a Word template. Common scenarios are protocols of workflow processes or the creation of receipts as well as correspondence. If processes were created with many different templates so far that meant, that for each template one system activity was needed - even if the templates only differed to a very small extent (e.g. in the footer). In order to save process designers from this configuration effort, as of now it is possible to determine one Word file as central template for a system activity, which then can be replaced dynamically by another template throughout the entire term. For this, only the respective values are needed from the workflow. Then the links are taken from the central template, which has to contain the maximum of all links. By this process designers can save a great deal of precious work time.
Selective pick-lists in index dialogs
Depending on the intended purpose of an archive, it may happen that individual index fields relate to values from other index fields. If e.g. an index field “Document Type” exists and if “Receipt” is selected, it is possible that the user receives the selection “Invoice”, “Delivery Note”, and “Reminder” in another field.
Though, if the user selects “Correspondence” as document type, values like “Request” or “Complaint” are offered in the second field. Now, with JobRouter® 4.2, the archive supports these index field linkages via variables, which can be stored in the archive configuration when defining the requests. Of course, this reliance is also taken into consideration for the archive view, meaning, that also there only the appropriate values are available in the filter.
JobStart – Parallel barcode processing
In addition to email import JobStart offers also barcode processing, which is often used for the separation of scanned documents. Large image files with many pages, as you receive e.g. from scan providers, can lead to a delay in order processing. But now JobRouter® 4.2 supports also the pooling for barcode processing. Even single documents, which need to be delivered immediately to the users, can be processed directly. So long waiting times, which occur due to the processing of large files, can be omitted. Thereby, JobStart can be used for projects with extremely large volumes.
Selective lists in JobData
Since the publication of JobData version 4.1 many JobRouter users decided upon the use of the new module, and now manage their process master data in this integrated module. As well as in the Archives, numerous users required selective pick-lists that are built on one another. With version 4.2 this function is integrated in the JobData module: Now it is possible to access other JobData table columns via variables, limit values, and ensure the correct data entry, when the definition for the SQL request is created.
Selection of JobData columns by user
JobData tables may have a large number of columns, containing information concerning process-relevant master data. When working with the data, each user has different requirements regarding the display of column contents. With JobRouter® 4.2 it is now possible to display or hide released columns for each user individually. This setting is stored beyond the duration of the session for the next login in the system.
Grouping of return values from the JobMind Bau dialog
JobMind Bau is our innovative module for processing construction invoices on the screen. It facilitates the recording and correction of construction invoices in separate dialogs – including account assignment. As the account assignment is performed on position level, often an additional grouping according to accounts is subsequently necessary, before it can be handed over to the accounting department. Until now, this had to be done in a PHP function. But as of now it is a default feature of JobMind Bau. Now it is sufficient to link the target subtable and its columns to integrate the functionality.
Dashboard categories
Users intensively using the JobRouter® dashboard often access numerous widgets. Hitherto, all widgets were displayed in one list. As a result, the large number of widgets may have made an overview very difficult. But as of now, own widgets can be assigned to JobRouter® categories, whereby the range of widgets gets significantly clearer and more useful
Dashboard API enhancement
For users, who are creating their own widgets, a new functionality is available in the Dashboard API now. The methods hasUserAdminRights() and hasUserOwnProcesses() have been added, enabling a transparent check of rights. The method getWidgetFileUrl() has been added to additionally facilitate the access to images via the browser in case of a relocated dashboard directory.
PHP API
Process designers, who are creating own PHP functions, benefit from the new function getFilesystemFilename(), which identifies file names on filesystem level. These may vary from the stored names, if special characters or special character sets have been used.
JavaScript API
The functions jr_viewer_stamp_create, jr_viewer_stamp_activate, jr_viewer_stamp_remove have been added for a dynamic management of stamps for the JobViewer 2 integration. After their creation the stamps can be placed on the document by the user.
REST API
More and more JobRouter® clients and partners are using the JobRouter REST API for the communication from other applications or for the creation of individual products aimed to enhance the JobRouter® product range. In addition to the API reference we have created a new manual with practical examples to make the entry into the topic easier. Process designers and administrators can access it via the manual menu. The manual is also attainable via the JobRouter® directory under the path help\german\rest_api_examples.